Baccarat is a casino card game that’s become associated with high rollers and luxury. The 2013 movie The Great Gatsby features a baccarat game at one of the extravagant parties thrown by protagonist Jay Gatsby. But while this card game is typically associated with wealth, baccarat can actually be enjoyed by players on any budget. With a low house edge and simple rules, it’s no wonder that baccarat is becoming increasingly popular among casino players.
The game of baccarat involves two hands of cards being dealt and then having their value calculated. The goal is to bet on which hand will have a total closer to nine. The two hands are called the Player hand and the Banker hand. They are dealt from a six- or eight-deck shoe. Picture cards and the Tens count as zero points, while the values of the remaining cards numbered from 2-9 are added together to determine the hand’s value. The hand with the closest total to nine wins. If neither the Player hand nor the Banker hand have a total close to nine, it’s a tie.
After all the bets are placed, the dealer will deal a single card to the Player box and then another to the Banker box. If the Banker hand has the highest total, it wins. If the Player hand has a higher total, it wins. Then the other hand is dealt. If the second hand has a higher total than the first, it wins. Otherwise, it’s a tie.
Although the game of baccarat is often seen as a complicated, intimidating and glamorous game, it’s actually quite simple to learn. The rules are very straightforward, and the game has only three possible outcomes: a Player win, a Banker win, or a Tie. Baccarat is also one of the few casino games where the house has a very low edge.
There are several reasons why baccarat has grown in popularity. One of them is that it appeals to Asian high-rollers who are looking for a game that fits their cultural preferences. In Macau, for instance, baccarat is the most popular game and generates over 88 percent of the casinos’ total earnings.
Another reason is that baccarat is very easy to play online. Unlike blackjack, you don’t have much control over the cards that you’re dealt, so you can just bet on either the Player or Banker hand. The Banker bet has a lower house edge than the Player bet, so it’s usually the best option for serious players. A third bet, the tie, has a higher house edge of over 14 percent and is rarely made by serious players. However, if you do make the tie bet, you can lower the house edge by using a strategy known as card counting. This method requires practice and is not recommended for newbies to baccarat. However, it can reduce the game’s house edge by about 0.05 percent.